Hi everyone. Woke up this morning to the sound of rain. Love that.
Thank you for all your help yesterday with the cord cover thing and the roses thing, and thank you for saying you liked the rooms. I don't really want to call an electrician to move the outlet — I don't care about it that much, just having a little painted cover would be better than big white cords hanging out and cheaper than doing surgery (the house is 1927, so I don't think it's drywall, but then again I only barely know what drywall is) — so I will follow up on those suggestions. I have this weird psychological block when it comes to doing things to the house, honestly, and believe me, it has absolutely nothing to do with preserving its historic integrity. It has everything to do with the fact that I am severely lacking in money, imagination, and know-how, or rather, the motivation to get the know-how. Part of me just doesn't want to know how.
Some people look at houses and see all sorts of potential for change. Andy and I are both, unfortunately, useless not the world's greatest at thinking that way. About the most handymanish thing that I can get Andy to do is install a ceiling fan where a light fixture was, and then we both stand about twenty-five feet away with our arms folded over our heads when he flicks the switch to turn it on, utterly sure that it's going to blow right off the ceiling and decapitate someone. Every time it works I swear he is even more relieved and surprised than I am.
So in answer to, who was it, Amber, who very rationally asked me why I didn't just plaster the roses on to the bricks, my answer is, "Exactly." Fabric, paint, nails, curtains, glue guns, pillows, whatever — those I understand. Those are my peeps. I'll change those every five or six minutes, faster than the human eye can detect. But saws, drills, screws, adhesives, wires, anything that has to be wired in, any holes that have to be cut in something — eeeeeyikes. Irrational fear. Blank stare. Quick calculation of checkbook balance to see whether someone can be hired. Mild feelings of panic when answer is "no." Nervous contemplation of hated toolbox.
Not me, Andy.
Kidding.
Kind of.
Sorry hun.
cool fan..
I empathize with the fan installation. I woke up in the middle of the night to have my husband reassure me that the ceiling fan, he stayed up all night to install, is safe (not working yet, but not a fire hazard). I walked into the kitchen this morning and found a bladeless fan haphazardly hanging from the ceiling, wires pouring from the ceiling, and blades strewn all over the floor.
Part of me just wants to call my dad and ask him to come over. But the other part knows we just need to figure out on our own. Hopefully we won't burn down the house or decapitate our cats in the process.
G is also a DIY non-entity, as is his Father. I think they lack the gene necessary to do things that "real men" do. :-) His tool box contains this stuff called no more nails, he uses it for everything! I on the other hand have a fairly well stocked tool box I am just banned from doing anything. My past as a klutz is colouring my future as a DIY natural.
Just FYI for your piece of mind, a regular household ceiling fan cannot decapitate someone. It may cause blunt trauma to your head but decapitate, no. These are the things you learn when your husband makes you watch Mythbusters.
Our house needs lots of work. For example, the living room walls are covered floor to ceiling in corrugated cardboard.........I'll wait for that to sink in........Yep. Corrugated cardboard; the ridged side out. I don't know whose idea that was, but WHAT were they THINKING!
Too bad, because the house is a cute bungalow style, built sometime between 1910 and 1930 and has a lot of potential.
We're just renting it, and it drives me crazy that I can't do what I want with it. Aargh!
I'm sure that's one of the reasons I throw myself into my crafts with such vigour :)
Poor thing. You know you could use paint thinner, get the paint off of the roses and then take a heat gun to the roses, heat the paint and the glue...then chip them off. If I lived closer I would gladly come do it for you. The only things I will not touch are electricity and plumbing... whoozers... two things that could blow you or your house right off the foundation : ).... Before I had a blog (other than yahoo 360), I posted pics of my bedroom. My house has ...oh wince.. textured walls and popcorn ceilings, two things I despise (I think it is for lazy people). Well, I removed the popcorn from the master bedroom and then took plaster and "smoothed" my walls out. It took me four long painful months, but I did it.. and then I found out Lowes has wallpaper that will do the same thing... and no one would be the wiser. Anyway, I have gutted a condo before and seem to be on my way to do that to my house as well....
Once I get the money together for the rest of my wood floor in my living room, that popcorn celing is coming down! Now if I could just find someone to remove the rock climbing wall I call a fireplace..
This is the same reason why I have not had a hose to water flower pots (and tomatoes) in my backyard for...14 years of being in this house. Because everytime I threaten to call a plumber to put a water/hose/outlet thingy into the cement foundation (it seems like it wouldn't be THAT hard since underneath there is an unfinished storage room) to bring RUNNING WATER into our backyard - the hub gets this idea that he and his brother could do it. "Don't call a plumber!", he says, "Tim and I can do it!" But here it is 14 years later and I'm still carrying pitchers of water through the backdoor one at a time to water the poor thirsy pots. Arrgh. Maybe I'll call a PROFESSIONAL today and give the bill to the hub when he gets home from the golf course!
I of course meant for your peace of mind although I wouldn't mind a piece of your mind either.
It's good to know our limits...power tools are not for everyone :)
my husband is very good at STARTING projects and absolute crap at finishing them. i went to england for two weeks over 4 years ago and while i was gone, he wreaked havoc around the homestead. i had to hire someone to repair and finish what he did to the bathroom. the slate tiles he pulled up off the front porch (not ALL of them, mind you) are still missing. the cracks in the sheetrock in the guest bedroom (which he just HAD to make wider before he could fill them) are still unfilled. thank god he's terrified to do anything electrical.
hi! i was curious where you got the pink and aqua chinese lanterns hanging in your studio? love those! and your studio is amazing. And i totally understand the mental block on house repairs, etc... we have an older house and are just NOW getting to the point that we can do things.. it has taken years. :-)
Delurking here to tell you how much I adore your Living/Dining room! I love the roses on the fireplace, too!
My SO and I are the same way--total mental block on the reno/handyman stuff (and his dad was a carpenter, so it seems even worse that we're so un-handy).
Loved the pictures of your room
yesterday and laughed right out loud today when you described your reaction to drills, screws, etc. Thanks!
We have a ceiling fan in the eating area of the kitchen. And everytime someone turns it on *full blast*, it wobbles and shakes in its' high speed that I am certain it WILL fly off and decapitate someone. I HAVE to run over and turn it to a slower spin...those things, they scare me.
Lovely picture yesterday, I meant to comment on it, but as you know, I was somewhat preoccupied...love the fireplace roses, I do.
I have so done the "squeeze my eyes closed and cover my head" move after a ceiling fan install. Too funny! You remind me of a cross between Anne Shirley & Diana Barry. I always think of them after reading your writing!
my suggestion re: the oddly placed electrical outlet would be to get a power strip with a dark cord (you can get black or grey for sure), plug that in 3' up, and then plug in your appliances to the power strip on the floor. that would a) give you more outlets, YAY! and b) streamline your dangling cords a little. i think a grey power strip would blend in better than the white cords with the dark wall.
my boyfriend's bedroom is a converted attic, so the upper half of the walls slope inward (starting at about 4'), and he's got an outlet up almost at shoulder-level, tilted toward the floor by about 45 degrees because its on the sloped wall. bizarre.
Oh..this post and comments that followed made me laugh! (corrugated cardboard...oh you poor soul!) I am so lucky that both my husband and I are of the handy variety. HOWEVER...this does have its down side. Like.."hey hon, when we put that new vanity in, should we call a plumber or do you wreckon we could give it a go...?" "Yeah we could do it hey?" ....hours and constant trickles of water later.."Yeah maybe we should get the plumber just to tighten up the loose ends.." Sometimes you should just leave things to qualified tradesmen. Lol.
Um...what's a toolbox?
No, seriously.
: )
I love the roses...paint the fireplace rose. Or a grey-blue shade.
Wish we lived closer...I'd be volunteering my hubby for electrician duty (I volunteer him to fix other people's everything often, he's pretty handy, but I don't know where he gets it from).
And thanks for the belly-laugh; I could just picture you standing there, arms over your head and braced for impact.
And by the way, why do old homes have these weird outlets up on the wall? My last house had them too.
Ah, it feels good to not be alone in this. About the only thing we're really DIY about is making a french press cozy or the like. Really. We have no plan/knowledge/money/desire to do much about the little things (and lots of them) falling apart around us. C'est la vie. I'm impressed with your fan installation!
Hi Alicia,
speaking of Swedish, which is a day late, I know you have Posidriv on your list of blogs, and I know she is Norway, not Sweden, but she does have a lot of beautiful "whiteness" all over her house, and little Christmas lights as well.
Cheers.
AM
Another 10 years or so Andy will be a handy wonder, just from all the little things, like the fan. My husband started out a novice and my sister, with the handy husband, used to tell me she told ALL HER FRIENDS HOW SHE PITIED ME. 23 years later, my husband is the dream husband who can do all kinds of stuff include lay down hardwood thru the house and put up light fixtures and fans and you name it. (and can pay for what he can't do! Take thatlittle sister!)
Glue is about as mechanical as I get. I rehung my laundry door the other day, and rang about 20 people to tell them about it. Complete strangers walk into the house and are obliged to view my handiwork. That's how much of a miracle it was, and only because I was absolutely forced into it. I can totally relate to this post, though I confess I have always been attracted to handy men.